The Finnish Perspective: Youth Work, Policy and Research 120

The Finnish perspective: youth work, policy and Helena Helve research he history of Finnish youth work T has its roots in Christianity. Finland had a predominantly Catholic culture until, at the end of the 16th century, the Reformation of the Church of Sweden was accomplished. Among other things, the church started the first basic form of comprehensive education. In 1809 Finland was occupied by Russia for a decade, though the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland remained active and shared its state church status with the Finnish Orthodox Church in 1869, when a new Church Act was passed, giving the church its own legislative body, the central synod. A year before, the Lutheran parishes were differentiated from the secular municipalities, both being given their own finances and administrative bodies. The general responsibility for comprehensive education and the care of the poor was transferred from the church to secular municipalities. From 1923 it became possible to leave the state church in Finland without having to join another religious congregation. However the majority of the Finnish people remained members of the church. Finnish independence in 1917 was imme- diately followed by the Finnish Civil War, which divided the nation into Reds and Whites. The Lutheran Church assumed 1 0 the White position without question, 118 while the Red side was anti-clerical, even murdering priests. After the Civil War there was great concern about violence, alcohol drinking and the morals of lower-class young people. Under the constitution of 1919, the new republic was deemed to be non-confessional, with freedom of religion. Many political youth organisations, such as civil guard youth clubs, were established in the 1920s and 1930s, still divided into Reds and Whites. An example: the YMCA I take here, as an example of early youth work, the YMCA (in Finnish, Nuorten Miesten Kristillinen Yhdistys, or NMKY), founded in Turku in 1886. At that time it could not get permission to operate under Russian rules. In 1889, after the YMCA’s World Meeting in Stockholm, the authorities permitted three local YMCAs: in Helsinki, Tampere and Joensuu. The Finnish YMCA had mixed groups for boys and girls, and closely co-operated with the Lutheran Church. The YMCA started Christian boys’ and youth work in Finland, including camps and Scouting. Its own Scouts league, the Blues, was set up in the 1930s, but no longer exists. Music in many forms played an important role, with choirs, a symphony orchestra and brass bands. In 1923 the Finnish YMCA set up a special sports body, the Sport Alliance of Finnish YMCAs, which still exists. It introduced basketball in 1938 and volleyball in 1939. Co-operation with all Nordic countries was wide from the start. The Finnish YMCA started its international social work by helping refugees after the Second World War.25 In 1979 it began development co-operation with the African Alliance of YMCA in Gambia. In 1990 bilateral co-operation started with the Estonian YMCA as part of its European fieldwork.26 So, theYMCA has grown to be one of the most important youth movements in Finland. Youth clubs and associations The first Finnish youth association, Nuorisoseuraliike, was founded in 1897 with the aim of educating rural young people. The idea came from a Dane, Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig (born 8 September 1783, died 2 September 1872), the father of the folk high school. Grundtvigian philosophy gave rise to a new form of nationalism in Denmark in the latter half of the 19th century. The most important philosopher of Finnish nationalism was Johan Vilhelm Snellman (born 12 May1806, died 4 July 1881). He considered Lutheranism an important factor in Finnish identity – for example in agrarian youth clubs and organisations from the 1890s, in the 4H clubs (1920s) and the Scouts (1930s). The roots of Finnish youth organisations were there in the 1880s, and the first secretary for Nuorisoseuranliike was being paid by the state already in 1906. However, early youth work was voluntary work for youth leisure-time activities and was often separate for boys and girls. Separate youth camps for boys and girls were organised from the beginning of the 1900s. 25 After 1945, the YMCA extended into work for international understanding, peace, solidar- ity and care for the environment. It also encouraged members to participate in physical exercise, sports and open-air activities. 26 TheYMCA’s mission is to help young people, especially those who are in danger of becom- ing socially excluded, or are already excluded, and those subject to social problems, assisting them to solve their problems. Helena Helve 101 119 During the Second World War, the church again became an important factor in Finnish nationalism. The church participated actively in social work, getting closer to the labour movement. Diaconal, family and youth work emerged as new forms of church activity. The ideology exemplified in the slogan “For the home, the faith and the Fatherland” had a strong influence on youth movements. The Second World War turned the Orthodox Church of Finland into a church of evacuees. After the Winter War, Finland was obliged to cede Karelia to the Soviet Union. The church lost 90 per cent of its property, and 70 per cent of its members had to be evacu- ated from their homes. The Orthodox population became dispersed throughout Finland. As a result of this the Orthodox Youth Association of Finland (in Finnish, Ortodoksisten Nuorten Liitto, or ONL) was founded during the war, in 1943. The main activity in the early days of ONL was to arrange study circles and clubs for Orthodox young people. In the children’s clubs and youth clubs, religious teaching played a very significant role. ONL has had close connections and co-operation with many Orthodox youth groups, for example with the Fellowship of Orthodox Youth in Poland and in Estonia. Nowadays ONL also organises pilgrimages for youth, mostly to Russia and Greece. Finland lost the war, but maintained her independence. She seemed powerless to confront the military superiority of the Soviet Union, hence negative references to “finlandisation”. J.K. Paasikivi (President, 1946-56) started a new foreign policy with regard to the Soviet Union. The Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance, signed in 1948, formally integrated Finland into the Soviet Union’s security framework. Despite this, Finland could in fact be considered a neutral country from a legal standpoint. Efforts to achieve neutrality during the Cold War era actually approached the Swiss model. Finland refrained from membership of international organisations, including the UN, right up to 1955, because such com- mitments could have resulted in the eventuality of having to take sides in conflicts between the superpowers. Finnish foreign policy became more active under President U.K. Kekkonen (1956-81). Among his initiatives were the Nordic nuclear-weapon-free zone, persuading the Nordic countries to declare their neutrality and organising the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe. Student youth movements In 1963 the Students’ United Nations Committee (Ylioppilaiden YK-yhdistys) was founded in Finland. The committee played an integral part in debating international affairs and promoting foreign policy debates. The union radicalised in 1968 and played a key role in student politics. Also in 1963, the Committee of 100 (Sadankomitea) against war and nuclear armament was established, inspired by its British predecessor. Its supporters came from leftist youth and student groups, and advocated civil disobedience to achieve their aims and to promote the idea of peaceful development. The first student union elections were in 1963. Although student unions had previously been dominated by traditional student organisations, several communist representatives were elected for the first time. In 1965 about 130 demonstrators participated in the first Finnish demonstration outside the US embassy in Helsinki against the American war in Vietnam. Although people previously were hesitant, Finland’s foreign political position started now to be discussed openly. On 1 May 1968, thousands of students took part in a march against war, capitalism and “bour- geois” values in university cities all over the country. Student caps and traditional The Finnish perspective: youth work, policy and research 120 academic symbols were set on fire in the central market places. On 21 August 1968 the student unions organised demonstrations in front of the Soviet embassy, against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. The radical Finnish student movement divided between those who condemned the Soviet occupation and those who tolerated it. An important step for the radical Finnish Student organisation was 25 November 1968, when students occupied their Old Student House in Helsinki, the venue for the Student Union’s 100th anniversary. The occupation became a kind of political expression in Finland, although the radical opposition was still without a political home and internal ideological divisions were strong. The continuing cycle of new social movements began at the end of the 1970s. Political youth organisations The political youth organisations have their own history, connected to the history of Finnish politics and political parties. Nowadays young people are involved in the parties’ work and in creating youth policy. The youth organisations are particularly active during party congresses, when the main policies of the parties are formed. Generally, the chairpersons of the youth organisations have the right to take part in the main decision-making bodies of their mother parties. In Finland there have been few youth boards, and participation in political youth organisations has been weak during recent parliamentary and local elections. The political voice of young people is not articulated as it was in the 1970s. Finnish youth policy and youth work Youth organisations have had a significant role in Finnish youth work and policy for a hundred years.

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